Chapter 4739 — The Destined Consort

True enough, the chamber presidents of the various merchant guilds—the true connoisseurs—had already seen it: this stalk of Thunder Mystic Vine was not yet fully mature. But even immature, a Thunder Mystic Vine was still a Thunder Mystic Vine. Discount its value though one might, it still without question reigned supreme over the entire field; no other heavenly treasure could compare with it.

One had to understand that even an immature Thunder Mystic Vine could still be used to refine Thunder Mystic Pills. The quality would of course suffer, and one could not guarantee a hundred percent success in crossing the thunder tribulation, yet the odds would still be very good. On that point alone it remained a rare supreme treasure, one that could not be sought even if one wished for it.

Watching the smug Kang Jingming, every trial participant present wilted at once. At a time like this, no amount of unwilling resentment was of any use—all the heavenly treasures on their persons combined were not worth a fraction of what he held. How could they possibly compete?

The trial participants were merely shocked and crestfallen, but the gazes the Western Island disciples turned upon Kang Jingming were filled with barely concealed fury. To uproot a Thunder Mystic Vine belonging to the Western Island—and an immature one at that—meant mortgaging the priceless treasure of future Western Island trials.

In other words, this bastard had outright robbed them of the Thunder Mystic Vine that ought to have been theirs, and in a manner so wantonly wasteful that both gods and men would burn with outrage. This was beyond all forbearance!

Had Ning Shanghe and Yan Xinlan and the others not been holding them in check, the Western Island disciples would likely have rushed him in a swarm by now and torn the bastard Kang Jingming limb from limb. To steal the household's treasure and then dare gloat about it in the household's own home—who had given him such nerve?

Kang Jingming, however, was oblivious to all of it. His heart surged with emotion as he basked in the shocked, envious gazes around him while greedily staring off at Ning Xuefei in the distance. At the thought that such a delicate little beauty—and a highborn princess of the Western Island, no less—would soon be his prize, he could not stop himself from swallowing hard. This trip to the Western Island had truly been the right fucking call!

Xu Lingchong was not so feeble-minded. He gave him an unobtrusive jab in the back, and Kang Jingming shuddered violently. Noticing the expressions on the many Western Island disciples' faces—as though they wanted to eat him alive—sweat instantly poured down his forehead. Unwittingly, he had stirred the wrath of the crowd.

Still, this was a public occasion; had so many outsiders not been present, these frantic Western Island disciples might truly have devoured him. He would have to be careful when they went back later, lest he fall to a knife in the dark.

On second thought, though, Kang Jingming perked up again. After today he was the destined consort of the Western Island; to these disciples he was their veritable master. Give them a hundred times the courage and they would not dare harm him. Fearing such a thing was wholly unfounded.

More than that, if he were in a good mood some day, he could sample a few beauties in this kingdom of women to break his fast—he might even get a little feel off Ning Shanghe herself, that noble, ravishing prospective mother-in-law. The very thought of it was so damn exhilarating he could float!

Seeing the greed and smugness all over Kang Jingming's face, the Western Island disciples ground their teeth in ever greater fury. Even the ever-unruffled Ning Shanghe could not help but knit her brows; at the thought of letting such a shameless creature become her son-in-law, she felt as disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly.

Nor was it only Ning Shanghe, the mother. Beside her, Yan Xinlan and Liu Ziqi were likewise seething with wrath. The two exchanged a knowing glance, and a flicker of killing intent flashed past.

If Ning Shanghe were to give tacit consent, they would not in the least mind playing the unseen assassin. They had watched Ning Xuefei grow up since she was small, and nothing could make them stand by and watch her leap into a pit of fire; still less could they allow a shameless wretch like Kang Jingming to become the Western Island's consort.

Ning Shanghe gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. As Ning Xuefei's mother, she wished for it more than anyone, but another, more important identity forbade her from doing so. Even if she wished it ten thousand times over that Kang Jingming not become the Western Island's consort, she could never resort to such crude means, so easily turned into a weapon against her.

"Everyone, the time is about right. We shall break for the midday rest, and announce the results this afternoon," Ning Shanghe declared placidly, and promptly led Ning Xuefei from the field first, leaving the crowd staring in astonishment.

The other trial participants were unbothered. It was plain enough that this no longer concerned them; whether the results were announced now or in the afternoon made not the slightest difference. If they could not wait, they were free to leave this very moment.

Kang Jingming's expression, however, was a veritable spectacle. Smug but moments ago, he had even prepared his acceptance speech; at Ning Shanghe's words he nearly bit his own tongue off.

A midday rest? High-level cultivators did not even need to eat, drink, or relieve themselves, and going without sleep or rest was common knowledge. Damn it, what did anyone mean by a "midday rest"?

For a moment, feeling the ill-intentioned gazes of the Western Island disciples from every direction, Kang Jingming was scared witless on the spot. His prospective mother-in-law had deliberately carved out this blank stretch of time—surely she did not mean to give these Western Island disciples their opening?

Kang Jingming was a schemer himself, and faced with such a thing his mind naturally ran to conspiracy theories. Think about it: if he could be killed off before the trial results were announced, then the Thunder Mystic Vine could be reclaimed in all propriety, and all the Western Island would have paid was a scapegoat. However he looked at it, that was a bargain.

At this very moment, under the envious gazes of the other trial participants, Kang Jingming was drenched in sweat, his legs gone weak with fright. Why would Ning Shanghe not play by the rules? What was he supposed to do now?

Watching the other trial participants withdraw one after another, Kang Jingming sat on pins and needles. Instinctively he made to bolt, but Xu Lingchong caught him by the arm.

"Young... Young Master Xu, this looks bad. Why don't we just run for it? That brat Wei Zhao can't possibly come back anyway—so long as we keep him from getting his hands on Ning Xuefei, taking the Thunder Mystic Vine back with us should count as completing the mission, right?" Kang Jingming proposed nervously.

"What's the panic?" Xu Lingchong snorted. He of course knew how grave the situation was. To dig up an immature Thunder Mystic Vine by the roots—they had gravely offended nearly every Western Island disciple. Even if Ning Shanghe made no move, there was no guaranteeing the people below would not take matters into their own hands and send assassins after them. Such things were impossible to guard against.

"But..." Kang Jingming still wanted to flee. To his mind, the period before the trial results were officially announced was the most dangerous of all—especially in a place surrounded by Western Island experts on every side. If someone took it into their head to launch a surprise assassination, he would not even know how he died. (To be continued)